1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to systems and methods that are used to create three-dimensional images that are displayed on an electronic display at a computer interface. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems, methods used to creating three-dimensional images that are based upon live camera footage obtained by photographic or video recording of live subjects or real objects.
2. Prior Art Description
People interact with computers for a wide variety of reasons. As computer software becomes more sophisticated and processors become more powerful, computers are being integrated into many parts of everyday life. In the past, people had to sit at a computer keyboard or engage a touch screen to interact with a computer. In today's environment, many people interact with computers merely by talking to the computer. Various companies have programmed voice recognition interfaces. For example, Apple Inc., has developed Siri® to enable people to verbally interact with their iPhones®. Amazon Inc. has developed Alexa® to enable people to search the world wide web and order products through Amazon®.
Although interacting with a computer via a voice recognition interface is far more dynamic than a keypad or touch pad, it still has drawbacks. The artificial intelligence algorithms used for voice interaction interfaces are very limited. As such, voice interaction interfaces can only answer certain basic queries and those queries must contain specific key words. If more complex matters need to be communicated, there is no current substitute for talking to a real knowledgeable person. It is for this reason that most people prefer speaking to a live person on a telephone rather than interacting with a question and answer computerized phone system. Likewise, when a person is provided with the option of talking a live person on a telephone or interacting with a live person face to face, most people prefer the face to face option. When two humans communicate face to face, many of the communication queues used in the conversation are visual in natural. The manner in which a person moves their eyes, tilts their head, or provides any facial expression or hand gesture, conveys significant additional meaning to words that are being spoken. When communications are purely based on audio signals, such as during a phone call, much of the nuance communicated by human body language is lost. Likewise, when a computer communicates with a human through an audio interface, nuanced information is lost.
It is not possible to provide a live person to stand around every computer in the world. However, it is possible to provide a three-dimensional image of a live person or real object to any computer or digital display that is enabled to present such an image. In the prior art, there are many systems that enable a person to video conference with a live person at a remote location. There are also systems that enable people to call-up an avatar. For instance, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0294465 to Ronene, an avatar system is provided for a smart phone. The avatar system provides a face that changes expression in the context of a conversation. The avatar can be customized and personalized by a user. A similar system is found in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0079325 to Trajkovic which shows an avatar system for smart phones. The avatar can be customized, where aspects of the avatar are selected from a database.
An obvious problem with such prior art systems is that the video image of the person you are talking to or the avatar you are viewing is two-dimensional. Furthermore, if a smart phone is being used, the image being viewed is on a screen that may be less than two inches wide. Accordingly, much of the visual information being communicated can be difficult to see and easy to miss.
Little can be done to change the screen size on many devices such as smart phones. However, many of the disadvantages of a small two-dimensional avatar can be overcome or minimized by presenting an image that is three-dimensional. This is especially true if the three-dimensional effects designed into the image cause the image to appear to project out of the plane of the display. In this manner, the image will appear to stand atop the smart phone during a conversation.
In the prior art, there are many systems that exist for creating stereoscopic and auto-stereoscopic images that appear three-dimensional. However, most prior art systems create three-dimensional images that appear to exist behind or below the plane of the electronic screen. That is, the three-dimensional effect would cause an image to appear to extend down into the screen of a smart phone. The screen of the smart phone would appear as a window atop the underlying three-dimensional virtual environment. With a small screen, this limits the ability of the 3D image to provide visual communication queues.
A need therefore exists for creating an 3D image that can be used to provide live communications between a person at a first location and one or more people at remote locations, wherein the images used for communication appear three-dimensional and also appear to extend out from the electronic display from which it is shown. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.